


Next time, think before you speak

by RebeccaAnabelBurrows



Series: A Study in Soulbonds (Unrelated Works) [4]
Category: DCU, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaAnabelBurrows/pseuds/RebeccaAnabelBurrows
Summary: After meeting for the first time, Bruce and Hal find out they are soulmates and that Bruce's soulwords might be an issue.--“Let me guess, is it my soulmate calling ? How did you get this number, Spooks ?”
Relationships: Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne
Series: A Study in Soulbonds (Unrelated Works) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687879
Comments: 14
Kudos: 199





	Next time, think before you speak

In many populations, soulmarks were fully formed at the baby’s birth. For humans, whose marks happened to be the first words their soulmates said to them, they only appeared after being uttered. 

Kids were excited about having them. They tried cool personalized greetings when they met new people in the hopes of making original words appear on their soulmate’s skin.

Some teenagers picked especially rude greetings for fun - more than one person had “Hey, dickhead” written on some body part or another. 

Bruce had a classmate who quoted poetry every time he met someone but whose soulmate ended up with “Fuck, couldn’t you pay attention ?” on her arm as they ran into each other accidentally. 

Bruce had never paid much attention to soulmates. Not after his parents’ deaths, anyway, and that had been years ago. He didn’t go out of his way with his greetings, always keeping them simple. That was uncommon and often frowned upon. 

Hal’s own greetings usually started with “Hello, I am Hal Jordan.”, in the hopes his soulmate wouldn’t be confused. 

It had been one of his fears when he was a kid, that his soulmate wouldn’t recognize that the words on their skin were Hal’s. So he had found a way to make sure it couldn’t happen. Hopefully Hal had overcome that fear now, but the greeting had stuck.

Neither of the two used their usual words of greetings when they met their soulmates for the first time.

Hal noticed when he unbuttoned his shirt back home. He frowned and grabbed his phone to take a picture and rotate it to read what was written. He laughed when he realized who had said the words. Life was really just a big joke. 

Bruce was half naked in the cave, staring at his forearm, intent to make the magical ink go away by pure will. It didn’t move an inch. It looked like his soulmate had doomed him to wear only long sleeves for the rest of his life. 

He shouldn’t be surprised that Hal Jordan had made his life more difficult, should he ? 

Thirty minutes later, Hal’s phone rang. The man answered it.

“Jordan.” 

It took only a second for Hal to place the gravelly tone. 

“Let me guess, is it my soulmate calling ? How did you get this number, Spooks ?” 

Bruce was getting riled up but did his best not to raise to the obvious bait. Hal was probably angry too and looking for a fight.

“You’re aware you’ve put my whole life on the line when you gave me my soul word, yes ?” he asked, a bit too aggressively.

Well, he hadn’t put that much effort into not letting his anger get the upper hand. There was a pause. Bruce wondered briefly if Hal had hung up. He would have, if his soulmate had called him to give him a lecture about something he couldn’t control. 

“How - I called you by the name you usually wear at night, right ?” Hal said softly.

It was a good thing that Hal was prudent with his words. This line was supposed to be secure, but Hal’s may not be.

“You did.” Bruce said, but there was less animosity in his voice. 

He would just have to be extra careful now. Thankfully, Gotham’s weather - and quite a few scars - justified long sleeves.

“If it’s any comfort, your first words to me are “And you’re too damn bright !”. As much as I like a compliment, having it across my chest looks like I am boasting.”

“I wasn’t talking about your mind.” 

Hal made an amused noise, and when he spoke again, Bruce knew he was smiling. He could hear it.

“We’re the only ones to know that. And look, we can just be mad at each other forever, or we can try to do like normal people, for once. If you’re single, what do you think about going out for dinner with me and see how it goes ?”

Bruce was still frowning at his soulword. 

“Maybe we can try.” he said finally before hanging up to trace the word on his skin.

Hal’s penmanship was neat. It may have been more convenient if it hadn’t been, Bruce could have pretended it said something else. Here, the meaning was clear. A single word, followed by an interrogation mark. 

Bruce knew it was a security hazard but a part of him, the same one considering to ask Jordan out, didn't mind so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title can be found in [Fireworks](https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fireworks-56/), a poem by Amy Lowell.

**Author's Note:**

> In New 52, the first words Bruce and Hal say to each other are "Batman ?" and "And you're too damn bright."  
> Since I had yet to write a soulmates fic where first words did matter, I used those lines here.
> 
> EDIT : Sorry for any confusion I may have caused by misposting another fic's chapter as a second chapter in this fic (Yes, you can do that and it is going to haunt me until I die. No, I have never seen anyone do that mistake before, I am a rather unique mess.)  
> So yes, this fic is complete and I don't plan to make it any longer. My bad.


End file.
